MANILA: Jailed drug user Bitoy Paras perks up when describing his support for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly war on narcotics, an unlikely fan of a campaign that has left Filipinos deeply conflicted.
“Duterte talks tough, saying he will get rid of addicts... I am happy he’s doing that,” he told AFP at Manila’s main jail, which is packed with drug suspects.
“But I feel uneasy about the killings,” said the 22-year-old rickshaw driver, whose real name cannot be used due to prison policy.
Paras’s seemingly paradoxical backing echoes that of millions of Filipinos, who polls say support the crackdown but not the thousands of slayings that are central to it.
Duterte’s drug war — his signature initiative — helped bring him to power in mid-2016, promising to rid society of narcotics by any means necessary.
Since then, police say they have killed 4,854 alleged drug users or dealers in self-defense, while rights groups estimate the true toll is at least triple that.
According to the latest survey by pollster SWS, the campaign still has the backing of 78 percent of Filipinos, a figure undented in over a year.
Drug war proponents regularly point to these statistics as proof that the internationally-condemned crackdown is the will of the people.
But those same polls show near unanimous agreement — 96 percent — among the nation in opposition to the killing, saying the suspects should be taken alive.
Experts say Duterte’s campaign has tapped into genuine popular outrage over disorder, crime and dysfunction in a developing nation with millions of poor people and a turbulent political past.
“It’s not like they’re turning a blind eye (to the killing) but they’re really worried about the drug problem,” said Steven Rood, a fellow-in-residence at pollster SWS.
“It has been a problem for a long time and finally the president of the Philippines is doing something about it,” he added, describing how many Filipinos view the narcotics issue.
But for the family of Duterte voter Katherine Bautista, that belief was suddenly turned on its head by tragedy last year.
Bautista supported the crackdown until her stepson John Jezreel David was shot dead in what police said was an anti-drug operation even as she insisted her son was not a drug user.
“I was even saying that the tears of families (of those killed) seemed fake. But when it happened to us, I felt the pain they were feeling,” Bautista told AFP.
“If it doesn’t happen to your family, you won’t wake up to the truth,” she added.
A significant strand in the opposition to the killings is the fear a loved could be slain just by being in the wrong place, not necessarily because of involvement in drugs.
“People feel very afraid that their families or their relatives might be placed in a situation where they could be the targets,” Randy David, a sociologist and newspaper columnist in Manila, told AFP.
“But how can you possibly disagree or not lend support for a campaign to rid this country of illegal drugs?,” David added, saying the lethal methods were what prompted questions.
There has been broader condemnation of the crackdown, at home and abroad.
Rare protests were held in the Philippines last year following the deaths of teenagers, while outrage over alleged abuses has prompted Duterte to twice remove police from the frontlines of the campaign — only to reinstate them, and promise to pardon officers convicted of murder.
The International Criminal Court has launched a preliminary examination into the killings, while rights groups say Duterte may be overseeing a crime against humanity.
Meanwhile, Duterte hammers the menace posed by drugs in near daily speeches in which he has described addicts as “not human.”
Analysts say the president uses clear and repeated messaging in an effort to buttress backing for his campaign.
“The way (the message) is delivered is that there is a very big threat, so first there’s the production of massive fear,” said Ateneo de Manila University psychology professor Cristina Montiel.
“Then (comes) the salvific message that this program or this leader is here to save you,” she added. “That’s how popular support is produced.”
As the campaign continues, the death toll is well over Amnesty International’s count of 3,240 people killed during the nine years of martial law rule under dictator Ferdinand Marcos, the country’s darkest chapter since World War II.
Duterte recently addressed the thorny issue of the killings, delivering what critics called a clear admission they are suspect.
“What are my sins? Did I steal money? Even just one peso? Did I prosecute somebody I sent to jail?” he asked in a September speech. “My only sin is extrajudicial killings.”
Filipinos deeply conflicted on Duterte’s drug war
Filipinos deeply conflicted on Duterte’s drug war
- Police say they have killed 4,854 alleged drug users or dealers in self-defense, while rights groups estimate the true toll is at least triple that
- The International Criminal Court has launched a preliminary examination into the killings
Indian forces clash with Maoist rebels, five dead
- More than 10,000 people have died in the decades-long insurgency waged by Naxalite rebels
- Rebels demand land, jobs and share of central India’s natural resources for local residents
New Delhi: Indian security forces on Sunday battled with Maoist rebels in their forested heartland, police said, with at least four guerillas and one policeman killed.
More than 10,000 people have died in the decades-long insurgency waged by Naxalite rebels, who say they are fighting for the rights of marginalized indigenous people in India’s resource-rich central regions.
Government forces stepped up efforts last year to crush the long-running armed conflict, with some 287 rebels killed in 2024, according to government figures.
Clashes broke out late Saturday in Abujhmarh district of Chhattisgarh state, a key battleground in the insurgency.
“Four bodies of Maoists, who were in their battle uniform, have been recovered after an encounter with police forces,” police inspector general P. Sunderraj told AFP, adding one police constable had also been killed.
“Action is still on,” he said.
Around 1,000 suspected Naxalites were arrested and 837 surrendered during 2024.
Amit Shah, India’s interior minister, warned the Maoist rebels in September to surrender or face an “all-out” assault, saying the government expected to quash the insurgency by early 2026.
The insurgency has been drastically restricted in area in recent years.
The Naxalites, named after the district where their armed campaign began in 1967, were inspired by the Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong.
They demanded land, jobs and a share of the region’s immense natural resources for local residents, and made inroads in a number of remote communities across India’s east and south.
The movement gained in strength and numbers until the early 2000s when New Delhi deployed tens of thousands of security personnel against the rebels in a stretch of territory known as the “Red Corridor.”
Authorities have since invested millions of dollars in local infrastructure and social projects to combat the Naxalite appeal.
Indian forces clash with Maoist rebels, five dead
- More than 10,000 people have died in the decades-long insurgency waged by Naxalite rebels
- Government forces stepped up efforts last year to crush the long-running armed conflict
NEW DELHI: Indian security forces on Sunday battled with Maoist rebels in their forested heartland, police said, with at least four guerillas and one policeman killed.
More than 10,000 people have died in the decades-long insurgency waged by Naxalite rebels, who say they are fighting for the rights of marginalized indigenous people in India’s resource-rich central regions.
Government forces stepped up efforts last year to crush the long-running armed conflict, with some 287 rebels killed in 2024, according to government figures.
Clashes broke out late Saturday in Abujhmarh district of Chhattisgarh state, a key battleground in the insurgency.
“Four bodies of Maoists, who were in their battle uniform, have been recovered after an encounter with police forces,” police inspector general P. Sunderraj said, adding one police constable had also been killed.
“Action is still on,” he said.
Around 1,000 suspected Naxalites were arrested and 837 surrendered during 2024.
Amit Shah, India’s interior minister, warned the Maoist rebels in September to surrender or face an “all-out” assault, saying the government expected to quash the insurgency by early 2026.
The insurgency has been drastically restricted in area in recent years.
The Naxalites, named after the district where their armed campaign began in 1967, were inspired by the Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong.
They demanded land, jobs and a share of the region’s immense natural resources for local residents, and made inroads in a number of remote communities across India’s east and south.
The movement gained in strength and numbers until the early 2000s when New Delhi deployed tens of thousands of security personnel against the rebels in a stretch of territory known as the “Red Corridor.”
Authorities have since invested millions of dollars in local infrastructure and social projects to combat the Naxalite appeal.
South Korean protesters brave cold to demand Yoon Suk Yeol’s ouster as detention deadline looms
- Dozens of anti-corruption agency investigators and police attempted to execute a detainment warrant against Yoon on Friday
- But there was tense standoff with the presidential security service that lasted more than five hours
SEOUL: Hundreds of South Koreans, bundled up against freezing temperatures and snow, rallied overnight into Sunday near the residence of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, calling for his ouster and arrest, as authorities prepared to renew their efforts to detain him over his short-lived martial law decree.
Dozens of anti-corruption agency investigators and police attempted to execute a detainment warrant against Yoon on Friday but retreated from his residence in Seoul after a tense standoff with the presidential security service that lasted more than five hours.
The one-week warrant for his detention is valid through Monday. There were no immediate indications that anti-corruption authorities were ready to send investigators back to the residence as of Sunday afternoon. Staff from the presidential security service were seen installing barbed wire near the gate and along the hills leading up to Yoon’s residence over the weekend, possibly in preparation for another detention attempt.
A Seoul court last Tuesday issued a warrant to detain Yoon and a separate warrant to search his residence after the embattled president repeatedly defied authorities by refusing to appear for questioning and obstructing searches of his office. But enforcing them is complicated as long as Yoon remains in his official residence.
Investigators from the country’s anti-corruption agency are weighing charges of rebellion after the conservative president, apparently frustrated that his policies were blocked by a legislature dominated by the liberal opposition, declared martial law on Dec. 3 and dispatched troops to surround the National Assembly.
The Assembly overturned the declaration within hours in a unanimous vote and impeached Yoon on Dec. 14, accusing him of rebellion, while South Korean anti-corruption authorities and public prosecutors opened separate investigations into the events.
If the anti-corruption agency manages to detain Yoon, it will likely ask a court for permission to make a formal arrest. Otherwise, Yoon will be released after 48 hours.
The Corruption Investigation for High-Ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military investigators, says detaining Yoon would be “virtually impossible” as long as he is protected by the presidential security service. The agency has urged the country’s acting leader, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, to instruct the service to comply with their execution of the detainment warrant, but Choi has yet to publicly comment on the issue.
The chiefs and deputy chiefs of the presidential security service defied summonses on Saturday from police, who planned to question them over the suspected obstruction of official duty following Friday’s events.
Hundreds of anti-Yoon protesters rallied for hours near the gates of the presidential residence from Saturday evening to Sunday, voicing frustration over the failed detention attempt and demanding stronger efforts to bring Yoon into custody. Separated by police barricades and buses, pro-Yoon protesters were gathering in nearby streets, denouncing his impeachment and vowing to block any efforts to detain him.
Yoon’s lawyers have challenged the detention and search warrants against the president, saying they cannot be enforced at his residence due to a law that protects locations potentially linked to military secrets from search without the consent of the person in charge — which would be Yoon. They also argue the anti-corruption office lacks the legal authority to investigate rebellion charges and that police officers don’t have the legal authority to assist in detaining Yoon.
While the presidential security act mandates protection for Yoon, it does not authorize the presidential security service to block court-ordered detainments. The service’s attempts to block the execution of the warrant may amount to an obstruction of official duty, according to Park Sung-bae, an attorney specializing in criminal law. While the president mostly has immunity from prosecution while in office, the protection does not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason.
The agency said its outnumbered investigators had several scuffles with presidential security forces that threatened their safety and expressed “serious regret” that Yoon was not complying with the legal process.
After getting around a military unit guarding the residence’s grounds, the agency’s investigators and police were able to approach within 200 meters (yards) of Yoon’s residential building but were stopped by a barricade comprising around 10 vehicles and approximately 200 members of the presidential security forces and troops. The agency said it wasn’t able to visually confirm whether Yoon was inside the residence.
The Defense Ministry says the troops at Yoon’s official residence are under the control of the presidential security service. Kim Seon-ho, the acting defense minister, conveyed his concern to the presidential security service, saying that deploying military personnel to block the execution of the detention warrant would be “inappropriate” and requesting that the troops aren’t placed in a position where they might confront police, according to the ministry.
Yoon’s defense minister, police chief and several top military commanders have already been arrested over their roles in the period of martial law.
Yoon’s presidential powers have been suspended since the National Assembly voted to impeach him on Dec. 14. Yoon’s fate now lies with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to uphold the impeachment and formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him.
More records found linking Credit Suisse, Nazi accounts: US panel
- US Senate Budget Committee says Credit Suisse concealed information during previous inquiries into Nazi-controlled bank accounts during World War II
- Credit Suisse, now a subsidiary of investment bank UBS, agreed in 1998 to take part in a $1.25 billion settlement of lawsuits brought by Holocaust survivors
WASHINGTON: An investigation by a US Senate panel has found that troubled investment bank Credit Suisse concealed information during previous inquiries into Nazi-controlled bank accounts during World War II.
Tens of thousands of documents discovered during an ongoing examination have provided new proof of the existence of account holders linked to the Nazis, the Senate Budget Committee said in a statement released Saturday.
The bank did not reveal the existence of these accounts during previous investigations, notably in the 1990s, the committee said.
Credit Suisse, now a subsidiary of investment bank UBS, agreed in 1998 to take part in a $1.25 billion settlement of lawsuits brought by Holocaust survivors, but it has been accused of not being completely open about its past dealings with Nazis.
The Senate committee said Saturday that one set of newly discovered files, including 3,600 physical documents and 40,000 microfilms, was found to have a “high relevance rate” of Nazi connections.
It said the revelations stem from an interim report by former prosecutor Neil Barofsky, who was fired as an “independent ombudsperson” by the bank in 2022 after being pressed to limit his investigative work.
Barofsky was reinstated in the role in 2023 “as a result of the Committee’s investigation,” and after UBS’s takeover of Credit Suisse.
In a letter to the panel released Saturday, Barofsky noted the “extraordinary level of cooperation that Credit Suisse, under the leadership of UBS, has provided” since he rejoined the company.
But he said Credit Suisse had yet to share all the information it held.
The Barofsky team has discovered, among other things, accounts controlled by high-ranking SS officers, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In his letter, Barofsky highlighted “especially noteworthy” discoveries from a Credit Suisse research department.
“Numerous client files in the sample are marked with a stamp stating ‘Amerikanische schwarze Liste’ — meaning ‘American Black List’ — a list maintained by the Allies of individuals and companies that were directly financed by, or were known to regularly trade with, Axis powers,” he wrote.
“One file bearing this stamp relates to an entity that was involved in selling looted Jewish assets.”
Contacted by AFP, UBS said it was committed to providing a complete record of the former Nazi-linked accounts in Credit Suisse’s predecessor banks.
It said it would provide Barofsky with all necessary assistance in his work to shed light “on this tragic period.”
The Senate panel’s investigation is continuing.
End of Ukraine gas transit deal plunges Moldova’s pro-Russian region into crisis
- Kyiv refuses to renew the deal, leaving the breakaway region of Transdniestria without gas
- With longer rolling blackouts, residents are left without heating, hot water
KYIV: The pro-Russian breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniestria, left without Russian gas supplies no longer transiting through neighboring Ukraine, faced longer periods of rolling power cuts on Saturday, local authorities said.
Flows of Russian gas via Ukraine to central and eastern Europe stopped on New Year’s Day after a transit deal expired between the warring countries and Kyiv refused to extend it.
Transdniestria, a mainly Russian-speaking enclave which has lived side-by-side with Moldova since breaking away from it in the last days of Soviet rule, received gas from Russian giant Gazprom through the pipeline crossing Ukraine.
The gas was used to operate a thermal plant which provided electricity locally and for much of Moldova under the control of the pro-European central government.
The region’s self-styled president, Vadim Krasnoselsky, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said rolling power cuts in various districts would be extended to four hours on Sunday.
Hour-long cuts were first imposed on Friday evening after heating and hot water supplies were curtailed. The cuts were then extended to three hours on Saturday.
“Yesterday’s introduction of rolling cuts was a test. And it confirmed that an hour-long break to keep the electrical supply system operating was insufficient,” Krasnoselsky wrote. “The power generated is not covering sharply rising demand.”
All industries except those producing food have been shut down. The official Telegram news channel of the region’s separatist authorities announced the official closure on Saturday of a steel mill and bakery in the town of Rybnitsa.
Regional officials announced new measures to help residents, especially the elderly, and warned that overnight temperatures would fall to -10 Celsius (+14 Fahrenheit). Residents were told not to put strain on the region’s mobile phone network.
Using firewood
The news channel warned against using heaters in disrepair after two residents died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a stove. Online pictures showed servicemen loading up trucks with firewood for distribution.
“Don’t put off gathering in firewood,” Krasnoselsky told residents. “It is better to ensure your supply in advance, especially since the weather is favorable so far.”
Moldova’s government blames Russia for the crisis and has called on Gazprom to ship gas through the Turkstream pipeline and then through Bulgaria and Romania.
Russia denies using gas as a weapon to coerce Moldova, and blames Kyiv for refusing to renew the gas transit deal.
The Transdniestria power cuts are a problem for Moldova particularly because the enclave is home to a power plant which provides most of the power for government-controlled areas of Moldova at a fixed and low price.
Prime Minister Dorin Recean said on Friday his country faced a security crisis after Transdniestria imposed the rolling blackouts, but he also said the Chisinau government had prepared alternative arrangements, with a mixture of domestic production and electricity imports from Romania.
Even before the halt of supplies via Ukraine, Gazprom had said it would suspend exports to Moldova on Jan. 1 because of what Russia says are unpaid Moldovan debts of $709 million. Moldova disputes that and put the figure at $8.6 million.
